What should I do about a civil demand letter?

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What should I do about a civil demand letter?

I was stopped for shoplifting at a store but I didn’t steal anything. They looked through my purse and found nothing. They asked me to put my info on a plain piece of paper and didn’t sign anything and they let me go and the police weren’t called. But today I got a letter from a lawyer from the store saying I need to pay $200 hundred for civil charges or something like that. What is to be done?

Asked on August 7, 2014 under Uncategorized, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

You can refuse to pay; then, if they want to pay, they'd have to sue you and win...and to win, they'd have to prove in court, by a preponderance of the evidence (that is, that it is more likely than not) that you stole something from them.


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